An Object-Based Interface to a Relational Database System

Abstract: The object-oriented paradigm currently receives much attention as a method to
increase expressive power within database systems. In this paper, we argue
that this increased power can be achieved by superimposing an object-based
interface onto a relational DBMS. For this purpose, we exploit a structural
model of the database to generate object templates stored separately from the
database, and to instantiate those templates using data from the base
relations. This architecture provides a clear separation between storage and
working representations and allows non-procedural access to objects and
multiple views of the same information. In the context of a biomedical
resarch application, we discuss the capabilities of a prototype implementation
of the interface.